NAVIGATIONAL know how and course familiarity secured Kendal veteran Phil Clark a second win in the Lake District Mountain Trial over the Duddon fells on Sunday.

Clark, 47, who last won the event when it was held in the Langdales in 1996, said the conditions - humid, poor visibility with the cloud base at 1,500ft - suited him and he certainly made the most of them by finishing almost 13 minutes clear of his nearest rival.

"It was my sort of weather and I know the Coniston area very well," said Clark.

"It helps a bit having the hills in your head.

I did not make any mistakes and was running reasonably well and got some good routes."

The 19 mile course involved 8,000ft of climb and took the runners over Harter Fell, Crook Crag, Torver High Common, Low Water, Birk Fell, Gaitscale Gill and Seathwaite Tarn.

Interval starts make it difficult for athletes to assess how well they are placed.

"I was the third person through at the checkpoint at Tilberthwaite, which is three quarters of the way round, so I knew I was doing reasonably well," said Clark.

"I got ahead of the two athletes in front of me by the time I got to the second to last checkpoint at Seathwaite Tarn but even then you don't know how well the runners who set off behind you are doing."

Glossopdale's Mark Seddon was was second followed home by Borrowdale's Andrew Schofield.

Alan Miller was third vet in eighth place and with the help of Rick Stuart's 14th position Kendal won the team prize.

Kendal's Jon Broxap completed his 21st mountain trial finishing a creditable 25th.

Meanwhile, Kendal's Sue Parkin, who is also 47, chalked up her eighth win in the mountain trial finishing over half an hour clear of Kirsty Bryan-Jones of Dark Peak.

She was very modest about her achievement saying: "The field is never very big and there are people who could do well who for various reasons don't enter."

The ladies' race covered 15 miles and 6,000ft of climb over Harter Fell, Crook Crag, Torver High Common, Low Water, Wet Side Edge and Troutal Fell.

"I did not pick good lines over a couple of the fells," said Parkin, who is a teacher at St Bernard's, Barrow.

"But other people got fouled up worse than I did."

Clayton's Wendy Dodds, who lives in Milnthorpe, was third veteran in fourth place.

First team was the Rucksack Club.

RESULTS: Men: 1 P Clark, Kendal, 4-57-57; 2 M Seddon, Glossopdale, 5-10-31; 3 A Schofield, Borrowdale, 5-11-11; 4 Q Harding, Bowland, 5-11-20; 5 J Hunt, CFR, 5-12-20; 6 K Harding, Tring, 5-17-50; 7 S Bourne, Altrincham, 5-22-19; 8 A Miller, Kendal, 5-33-47; 9 G Ackland, Lothian, 5-36-58; 10 N Bunn, Thames Valley, 5-42-13; 14 R Stuart, Kendal, 6-00-49; 18 J Lagoe, Ambleside, 6-19-34; 20 M Beresford, Kendal, 6-24-33; 21 R Jerram, Kendal, 6-28-27; 25 J Broxap, Kendal, 6-42-35; 30 R Blyth, Kendal, 6-48-47; 40 M Berry, Black Combe, 7-07-04; 49 M Knowles, Lakeland OC, 7-34-46; 50 D Mitchell, Kendal, 7-36-16; 51 S Milligan, Kendal, 7-37-02; 53 R Cannon, Helm Hill, 7-48-41; 55 M Walford, Kendal, 7-52-44; 66 D Owen, Ambleside, 8-34-00; 70 D Hicks, Howgill, 8-53-53; 71 J Mayo, Kendal, 8-55-01

Ladies: 1 S Parkin, Kendal, 4-39-19; 2 K Bryan-Jones, Dark Peak, 5-13-45; 3 I Blunk, Rucksacks Club, 5-23-07; 4 W Dodds, Clayton, 5-24-24; 7 C McNeill, Ambleside, 6-05-27.

TWO South Lakeland teenagers took part in the World Trophy junior races at Bergen, near Salzburg, in Germany over the weekend.

Kendal's Andrew Symonds, 19, who lives at Sedbergh, was 29th and Ambleside's Stephen Savage finished 53rd in an uphill only race covering 9.6kms and 3,000ft of climb.

It attracted 79 athletes from 20 countries from all over the globe.

Symonds, who was 18th last year, said he was disappointed with his performance.

"I had sore legs for the first couple of miles and by the time I got running I was back in about 35th position."

Symonds was third counter for thye English team behind James Mason, of Bingley, and John Parker, of Leicester.